To Homework or Not to Homework? That is the question.

[bennyboy]

My issue with this is it caters to the lowest common denominator without trying to improve their situations. It is basically throwing up our hands and saying, well poor kids with 2 working paents or a single working parent cannot do homework, so we just won't give any kids homework, even if it is shown to help the kids who CAN do it.

Yeah, that's right. Some kids are losing out because others are in bad circumstances. But on the other hand, some kids are losing out because they themselves are in bad circumstances. My personal opinion is the lucky ones can get extra assistance at home. In that case, not having to do pointless homework could free up your kids' time so they can do whatever cool and better thought-out stuff you want to do with them.

I should think a better solution would be to provide some sort of after school program or help for children who cannot get help at home, and still give them homework.

I agree, that would be better. But how are you going to pay trillions of dollars to bomb brown people overseas, and then expect to have a budget for properly educating American kids (or even worse, brown immigrant kids)? Where are your priorities?

P.S. I'm disabled and poor as dirt, but I do have TIME for my kid, and realize that is a crucial factor. I also have a degree (earned before my disability) and a passion for learning. I realize my child, though poor, is one of the advantaged ones. I would gladly donate an hour a day after school to help those less fortunate kids get their homework done! I'm sure I'm not alone.

Yes, being poor doesn't necessarily mean that parents can't take care of their kids. When I've been out of work, I took it as a chance to spend a little more time with my kids, even though I had to tighten the belt buckle a couple notches for a while. But not everyone gets that luxury, or is capable of organizing any kind of home study.

In the end, I don't think homework vs. no homework is the big problem. The big problem is not enough teachers, not enough OT hours for the ones willing to put in extra time, not enough teachers dedicated to special needs or to ESL, in short-- not enough money. If you go to Canada, there are also some teachers/districts which have a low-homework policy. But they also have a lot of extra resources to fill in those gaps you're talking about.